Dan Rather, the quirky old news dog who has survived through multiple mergers and takeovers at CBS has today become an interesting symbol of a country at odds with itself, informed by a media unable to balance journalistic truth with the corrupting power that comes with broadcasting to millions.
A brilliant Sidney Blumenthal article published this week in Salon recaps the controversy surrounding Rather's $70 million dollar suit against CBS, suggesting their deals with the Bush administration sent him packing. Rather eventually came back swinging, newly alleging that CBS refrained from breaking the Abu Ghraib story to appease Bush/Rove, for example.
I find myself comparing Rather to outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower who warned the US in his farewell address that our government was prone to enter wars in order to enrich corporations with defense contracts. Eisenhower surely had some part to play in this but clearly wanted the American people to read between the lines and be wary - very, very wary.
Mr. Rather, in bringing this suit must do what Ike avoided - owning up to the part he played and spilling the beans in specifics. In a way, Rather might be likened to Sen. Larry Craig who originally pled guilty for his "bathroom" dealings and later claimed he was coerced. Mr. Rather's semi-admission of guilt while still employed for CBS was surely part of wrangling over how much crow he'd have to eat in exchange for continuing airtime.
But once abandoned, Rather back pedalled from his on-air "regrets" to make a larger point - that CBS was altering news-as-usual for the Bush administration and he'd kept mum about it. Now that he's talking, we see CBS may have buried the first Abu Ghraib exclusive. If they did so for White House favor, there should be an immediate criminal probe.
Formerly a pitbull, 60 Minutes has softballed the Bush administration for years. The influence coming in through multi-layered GE/Westinghouse/Infinity mergers is evidence of money men trying to turn CBS News into a the media arm of a large for-profit megaconglomerate - as has happened with the other networks.
As a long-respected senior newsman, Rather can tell us much about the internal struggles - it's time to hear the dirt and for Rather to play the part of America's conscience as someone who kept his mouth shut for power and money and has to now look in the mirror. Rather will have to explain away his earlier apology and come clean himself as he will be certainly slimed by CBS, now part of the military-industrial-Congressional-media complex scrubbing the news for Bush, just as Orwell foresaw, but 16 years later.
As many people in all industries all must eventually do personal ethics checks to right the errant direction of the country, even Salon has questions to answer. Blumenthal's otherwise right-on article cited each time the Bush/Air National Guard story was published before the Rather piece, but it omitted the Greg Palast BBC-TV report breaking this story a year earlier. Is this an example of Salon or Blumenthal being in competition with Palast or did they have another reason for it's omission? What do you think?
It's of little consequence today that Bush dodged the draft, went AWOL and lied about it later. But it would have likely swung the election had the story run on all networks without the disputed document. No other part of the larger story has been refuted, but the one letter in question, magnified and spun in perfected Rovian fashion, made the difference for the election, and for Rather's credibility and career. Some suggest Bush loyalists from inside CBS may have produced the letter to poison the otherwise tight story.
Where Blumenthal's article emphasized the corrupt bosses at CBS controlling Rather's moves, another piece by Truthout's William Rivers Pitt lumped Rather in with the crooks, resentful of the fact that Rather only came clean after he was canned. But Greg Palast's latest piece on the issue also published this week reminded us that he had the story first and had it right all along, only underscoring how his BBC broadcast and all the shouting he could possibly do meant very little in the US next to the influence of CBS News. Perhaps this shows why Rather fought so hard to keep his airtime, making deals with liars and crooks in the process.
It will be interesting to follow this law suit and see how down and dirty it gets. If nothing else, credit Rather for taking on Bush, CBS and the right, even if it's too late to save the country from a second Bush presidency. Let's see if things get shaken up at the networks as Rather faces his own complicity.
The long time face of CBS news, Rather represents how Americans each must find where our actions, borne out of materialism or self-interest have a negative impact on the rest of the world or our own future. Rather's worst crime might have been issuing his apology and taking the heat for using the document widely considered inauthentic - for many this put the issue to rest, which was the last thing he wanted to do - the story was right, but the cover-up was still expanding, thanks to his own bosses.
GW is a proud American from NY State, concerned about ethics issues, media manipulation and overconsumption. He has recently changed careers to become an inner city schoolteacher. A firm proponent of curbing overpopulation and international adoption, he hopes to adopt a third child and enjoys history, outsider art, garage rock music and rare/unusual vinyl records.
Wynn states, "If they did so for White House favor, there should be an immediate criminal probe."
Exactly what sort of laws does he believe was broken? Where does it say that a private news organization cannot withold a story because it may deem that such a story may be contrary and even possibly harmful to the security of a country's interest at a time of war? I think less political rhetoric and more concrete facts should be discussed here.
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Mr Stq (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 16 comments)
on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 3:05:56 AM
< -- Exactly what sort of laws does he believe was broken? -->
That would depend on the testimony - if Rather or someone else alleges a specific act of collusion between his bosses and some named entity in the Bush admistration, a Congresional investigation could subpoena records to find WHY it was done. The producer of the Abu exclusive could likely prove professional damages for CBS killing their scoop. More civil suits, but as far as crimes on the books, I'd think there would be some statutes applicable in the area of executive ethics breeches, were there any ethics review anymore, but this pales in comparison to other crimes committed by the Bush administration.
There are also laws that prohibit the government from engaging in propagandization on US soil, if a jury thought such story-squelching qualified.
If you think that the crimes committed at Abu Ghraib deserved to be hidden from the public because it would be "harmful to the security of a country's interest at a time of war", then you've lost sight of right and wrong. Torture was illegal and outlawed and those who commit it must be exposed and prosecuted. Electrocution, dog attacks and sexual humiliation are not defensible, even in a time of war. I love my country but there are times when black and white trumps red white and blue. Torture is illegal and not to be shielded, period.
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Gustav Wynn (40 articles, 30 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 175 comments)
on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 8:00:31 PM
Rather Disturbing News:CBS News hid Aby Ghuraib Crimes"
While it may 'disturbing news' to Gustav Wynn and millions of well meaning believers in the CBS', the CNN's and Fox'sin USA, we in the Middle East know them better for what they really are, based on their daily news and reports from, about and on the Middle East. Has anyone amongst our brothers inhumanity in America, have heard of or seen footage on or been allowed to pass their judgements on the massacres of Palestinians at Deir Yassin, surrendered Egyptian POW's in Sinai, or the massacre at Jenein or the carpet bombing of South Lebanon in the nineteen eighties and last summer, the massacre of unarmed women and children at the Caana U.N run refugee camp by target bombing with American 'smart bombs' and the daily assassinations of Palestinian politicians and and and. for 60 long and painful years. Suppressing of Abu Ghuraib Crimes is simply a single crime whose 'stink' could not be suppressed by all the perfumes and deodorants supplied to the embedded or in-bedded CBS, CNN and Fox 'whores' by the pimps in the White House, the Pentagon, State Dept and Capitol Hill and in 'official' Tel Aviv. BUT, all these crimes have been recorded diligently by the Palestinians and the Iraqis and they know what has happened and is still happening and will continue to happen till the time of RECKONING arrives and God Willing, the Great Leveler's Reckoning is not far away. It will come as sure as it came for Rome, the Third Reich and other Evil Empires in human history. At 66, I will not be alive to see God's Wrath in action but my children or my grand children will see it and I will be the happiest man in my grave.
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syed mahdi (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 107 comments)
on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 4:31:45 PM
Of the networks you mention, CBS was the one who in the past had been most likely to air news about events in the Middle East, giving airtime to Arab leaders or exposing crooks in our government. Perhaps it was Dan Rather or other 60 Minutes personnel fighting those battles for the truth to be shown - we will surely find out more.
If you'd like to share what you think about Dan Rather, feel free - that was the point of this OpEd piece. I think we agree that White House allies have infiltrated CBS, mixing business and politics into what should be a news organization and I think we both regret the result.
<---Suppressing of Abu Ghuraib Crimes is simply a single crime whose 'stink' could not be suppressed by all the perfumes and deodorants supplied to the embedded or in-bedded CBS, CNN and Fox 'whores' by the pimps in the White House, the Pentagon, State Dept and Capitol Hill and in 'official' Tel Aviv.---->
Apparently the news was suppressed for quite a while! I believe it was an Australian news outlet that finally publicized the tortures. Clearly it would have been much bigger coming as a 60 Minutes exclusive.
<--- till the time of RECKONING arrives and God Willing, the Great Leveler's Reckoning is not far away. It will come as sure as it came for Rome, the Third Reich and other Evil Empires in human history. At 66, I will not be alive to see God's Wrath in action --->
I also pray for justice to be served for people all over the world who oppress others but rather then pray or wait for God to make it happen, I have hope that Americans can become educated and displace those of our leaders who use fear and violence instead of working for peace. If the good people of the Middle East can also affect their leaders who do not seek peace, perhaps we will not need God's wrath to overcome problems humans have caused.
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Gustav Wynn (40 articles, 30 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 175 comments)
on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 7:18:21 PM
